Never After
by TheHildur92
Summary: Reid and Hotch are flying back from a consult when the Unit Chief raises the issue of their relationship. He wishes to end it but will Reid persuade him otherwise? Established Reid/Hotch.
1. Chapter 1

" _I can´t do this anymore." My words eclipsed the silence very much like the moon does the sun during an eclipse. My companion, sitting opposite me immersed in his book looked up._

" _What did you say, Hotch?" His brown moved from the pages of the book towards my face. We were flying back from a consult in Indiana, a straight forward process after a case which had seemed complicated at first sight and warranted our presence at the scene. Since there was a serial killer on the loose in New York, I had decided to send the rest of the team to the Big Apple and tackle Indiana alone with Reid. I knew that he could be useful in logistics, diagnosing handwriting and doing geographical research._

 _An added gratuity was the fact we could share a bedroom without any questions being raised._

 _When I repeated my words, a puzzling look crept over the features of my lover. "What exactly is it that you can´t do anymore?"_

" _This." To provide added clarity I indicated both him and myself._

" _May I ask why?" Reid seemed calm as he placed the book on the table between us._

" _I know," I said, placing added emphasis on my words to indicate what precise knowledge I was referring to. When Spencer seemed confused once more, I decided to elaborate. "You have been staring at the page for ten minutes. We both know you read 10.000 words a minute, which means you are thinking about him."_

" _He is a friend, Hotch. I spent nearly every single day with him for a decade. Of course I miss him."_

 _We both noted he did not deny thinking about Morgan._

" _You were more than friends." My statement was without emotion, clear and concise. This was the first time I had ever indicated knowledge of what had been going on between Morgan and Reid._

 _Reid´s brown eyes grew as big as saucers. "How did you know?"_

" _I always did, Spencer." I understood that Reid would demand more of an explanation than the one aldready provided. "Morgan came to me after your first night together, confused and in an after sex phase. He didn´t know what to do."_

" _What did you tell him?"_

" _To stay with you. I saw how happy Morgan made you and how much he loved you after he overcame his initial reluctance due to his past."_

" _But you once told me that..."_

" _...I have loved you from the first moment I saw you?" I finished for him. Reid nodded. "It is the reason I encouraged the relationship to begin with. I knew you would be good for each other and I thought you could never feel anything for me."_

 _Reid gazed out of the window of the plane, his mind dwelling on memories long past. "I felt an attraction to you from the moment we met but you were my superior, not to mention married, and thus I refuted it from the beginning. I became involved with Morgan partly because I loved him but also because we were best friends. Being with him was easy, like coming home."_

" _And being with me?" I questioned, rather taken aback at the turn of the conversation._

 _A smile flitted across the face of my companion. "It is more of an adventure. You are a mystery I am hoping to solve one day."_

" _And if you do not?"_

" _Then I shall simply keep trying." Reid looked back out the window and soft sunlight from the setting sun flitted across his face. He continued his walk down memory lane. "Everything changed when Morgan left. You were the only thing keeping me sane. Then that night in Canada happened."_

 _I sat back and allowed the memories to overwhelm me._


	2. Chapter 2

_I remember well that cold December night that brought us finally together._

 _We had been summoned to Canada to help the local police capture two criminals robbing banks and killing people as they went, leaving a trail of death across the country. We quickly determined due to the forensics that we were dealing with a man and a woman, referring to them as Bonnie and Clyde for obvious reasons. For a period of two weeks we pursued them relentlessly, finally catching up to them in a small town in the middle of nowhere where they had taken refuge in a dingy hostel. We obtained positive identification from the desk clerk and raided the room. Reid went first into the bedroom but was tackled quickly by the male counterpart we referred to as Clyde. Clyde hit Reid over the head with the barrel of his gun but it was not enough to knock the genius out cold. Reid scrambled to the nearest wall and cowered there while Clyde raised his pistol and prepared to shoot. He cocked the gun and it was at that moment I entered and tackled him to the floor. I knocked him out cold before handcuffing him. I scrambled over to Reid and knelt next to him. He must have seen the look of pure fear on my face because he did not stop me when I reached out to cup his cheek with my hand. In fact, he leaned into the touch, as if relishing it. Seeing his reaction, I moved closer and rested my forehead against his. I felt his breath on my face and the smell of old books and strawberry shampoo washed over me in a familiar manner. Reid´s pink lips seemed to utter an unspoken invitation to be kissed but as I leaned in to join my lips with those of Reid, I heard footsteps in the hall and pulled away when Prentiss entered to bring Reid to the ambulance to see about his bleeding head and Rossi escorted Clyde to jail. Local police had caught Bonnie in the fields not far away wearing only a bra and panties. They had to admit she looked good in them._

 _Reid called me later from the hospital to assure me all was well. He had gotten some stitches and would be chained to a desk for a few days but after that he would be able to return to the field. I walked around the small hotel room back and forth, gathering my courage to see Reid again and finish what I started. The words of my father echoed in my head but in end I told him to go fuck himself and walked to the other wing of the hotel where Reid had his room._

 _Reid answered on the second knock, holding an ice-pack to his head. He seemed surprised to see me. No doubt he had been expecting JJ or Prentiss checking up on him. I decided against such pleasantries._

 _"Everything okay, Hotch?" he questioned me._

 _"You can call me Aaron," I responded as I entered the room without invitation and closed the door behind me. I began to walk towards him and the icepack fell to the floor, his headache soon forgotten._

 _"Aaron," he responded as he walked back, trying to avoid close contact with me. I advanced and he retreated in a battle of wills until his back hit the wall._

 _I stood in front of him, we were only inches apart. I leaned one hand up against the wall for support but kept the other at my side to ensure he could make his escape should he want to. Reid did not move, however, when I leaned down to kiss him. His lips were soft, filled with promise. I merely grazed them with my own before pulling away to see his reaction. I knew he was freshly hurting from Morgan leaving, choosing someone else over him. I did not want him to feel coerced into starting something with me, whatever that might be. Then I felt his hands on my hips, pulling me closer and the fire burning in his eyes convinced me this was what he wanted._

 _It scared the hell outta me._

 _I made a flimsy excuse and ran out of there as fast as my legs could carry me._

 _Breakfast the next morning with the rest of the team was an awkward business. Being profilers, they understood something had taken place between me and Reid but probably thought it was an argument of some sort. Reid said nothing at all while I replied with mere grunts when Rossi addressed me. None of the others dared to do so seeing my mood._

 _After returning back to Washington, I was sitting in my office doing paperwork after the others had left. It was getting close to midnight and I was therefore surprised to hear a knock at my door. I didn´t look up because I knew it was him._

" _Aaron?" He entered and closed the door behind him. I loved the way my name sounded on his lips. Reid walked past my desk and put his hand on my shoulder to command my attention. I reluctantly looked up from my papers._

" _I´ve been considering the matter," Reid began._

" _I have too," I cut in. I ran my hand through my shorn locks before standing up and taking off my jacket. "It was wrong of me to kiss you. I should not have taken advantage of you in that way. I am your superior and it was wrong in every way…"_

" _Shut up, Aaron," Reid stopped my flow of words as he reached for my read tie and used it to pull me close to him. "Do you want this?" His words were a mere whisper in my ear._

" _God, yes," I felt myself replying before I could stop myself. He was asking if I wanted, yearned for him. I could not deny it was so._

 _Reid pulled away to note the warmth in my eyes and gently began loosening my tie with his long, agile fingers. "Then, know I want this too. Not because I am grieving for Morgan, or I have some dad complex. I want you."_

" _But the job…" I managed to croak out as Reid began to kiss my neck, almost costing me the last of my resolve._

" _Nobody needs to know," Reid pointed out as he began unbuttoning my shirt. He had clearly given the matter some consideration and in the haze of desire I had to agree with him. What he and I did together behind closed doors had no bearing on the cases we worked or the rest of the team. Better to keep them in the dark._

 _I made no fight when my shirt was thrown to the floor. Reid seated himself on my desk and pulled me close. He undid my pants and his long fingers found his way underneath my black silk boxers to my throbbing member. He allowed his fingers to gently explore me and then his pace became faster. My breath came in short gasps and it only took a few minutes before I came harder than ever before._

 _After I had recovered, Reid gave me a devilish smile. "I take it that is a yes, then?" He wrapped his legs teasingly around my waist._

 _Words were not needed as I leaned in to kiss him warmly and passionately._


End file.
